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Rorqual Napier V19.Pages !2 FOREWORD Lennox Napier commanded HMS RORQUAL during the most critical and challenging period of the Mediterranean Campaign during the Second World War. History records his achievements and distinguished war record, which earned him a DSO and DSC; this book does much more than that. His son, Christopher, himself a submariner, has been able to bring together a number of sources including Napier’s own voice from BBC transcripts to provide an in-depth study of the man himself. 2017 is the 100th anniversary of the Submarine Command Course and, as I read Christopher Napier’s words, it is clear to me that his father’s deep professionalism, detailed planning and calm and unemotional leadership were traits demanded by the course then as they are now. Submarines today still undertake arduous and sometimes dangerous patrols; they engage the enemy with torpedoes as during the Falklands War or Tomahawk missiles as during the Kosovo Campaign. They are called to patrol around the world monitoring trouble spots and in all this Lennox Napier would have felt at home. His story is well worth reading, not only by historians, but by all submariners - especially those preparing themselves for command. As Lennox answered when asked to what he would attribute his success: "A combination of experience and caution. What successes we had, which were not as great as some others, were I think largely due to some degree of caution, not trying to do more than the available ship and force was capable of, and surviving long enough to gather experience. If you have experience your chances of surviving and carrying out successful operations increases, of course, enormously with time.” This is excellent advice today and I commend this book to you. Vice Admiral Sir Tim McClement KCB OBE Patron of the Friends of the Submarine Museum 26th June 2017 !3 CONTENTS FOREWORD .......................................................................................................................................... 3 CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................ 4 MAPS ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Map 1 - Mediterranean Sea Eastern Part - Area of Opera5ons ........................................................... 6 Map 2 - Loca5ons Within the Aegean Sea ........................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 8 1 – RORQUAL, CHARACTERISTICS AND DESCRIPTION ......................................................................... 12 HMS RORQUAL (N74) .......................................................................................................................... 12 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS ............................................................................................................... 13 DESCRIPTION OF HMS RORQUAL ........................................................................................................ 14 FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BBC INTERVIEW 14 ........................................................................................................ 2 - A TIMELINE OF EVENTS ................................................................................................................. 17 JUNE 1941 - DECEMBER 1943 ............................................................................................................ 17 3 - CONDITIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ......................................................................................... 34 FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BBC INTERVIEW 34 ........................................................................................................ 4 - SUBMARINE COMMAND ............................................................................................................... 36 FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BBC INTERVIEW 36 ........................................................................................................ 5 - A MAGIC CARPET TO MALTA ......................................................................................................... 42 JUNE-JULY 1941 ................................................................................................................................. 42 FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BBC INTERVIEW 42 ........................................................................................................ FROM RED DUSTER, WHITE ENSIGN BY IAN CAMERON 43 .................................................................................. “Rorqual to Alexandria for special duty” ........................................................................................... 43 6 - A DIFFICULT FIRST ATTACK ............................................................................................................. 46 28 AUGUST 1941 ............................................................................................................................... 46 FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BBC INTERVIEW 46 ........................................................................................................ 7 - ENCOUNTER WITH U109 ............................................................................................................... 48 17 NOVEMBER 1941 .......................................................................................................................... 48 FROM THE SECRET DIARY OF A U-BOAT BY WOLFGANG HIRSCHFELD AS TOLD TO GEOFFREY BROOKES 48 .................... WAS IT RORQUAL? VIEW OF LWN ............................................................................................................. 50 8 - AN ACOUSTIC TORPEDO .............................................................................................................. 51 6 OCTOBER 1942 ................................................................................................................................ 51 LWN POST WAR ACCOUNT 51 ........................................................................................................................ FROM THE FIGHTING TENTH BY JOHN WINGATE, FORMER FIRST LIEUTENANT OF P44 (HMS UNITED) .................. 52 9 - 'FOUR TORPEDOES HAVE JUST PASSED UNDER ME' ....................................................................... 53 12 DECEMBER 1942 ........................................................................................................................... 53 FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BBC INTERVIEW 53 ........................................................................................................ FROM PERISCOPE VIEW BY GEORGE SIMPSON, CAPTAIN SM10 AT MALTA ....................................................... 53 !4 10 - THE LAST TIGERS FOR ROMMEL .................................................................................................. 54 18 JANUARY 1943 .............................................................................................................................. 54 FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BBC INTERVIEW 54 ........................................................................................................ FROM PERISCOPE VIEW BY GEORGE SIMPSON, CAPTAIN SM10 AT MALTA ....................................................... 55 FROM SEA WOLVES, THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF BRITAIN'S WORLD WAR2 SUBMARINES BY TIM CLAYTON, NAVAL HISTORIAN 56 ................................................................................................................................................ FROM ULTRA GOES TO WAR -THE SECRET STORY BY RONALD LEWIN 57 ............................................................... 11 - 'HITLER WENT RED IN THE FACE' ................................................................................................. 58 7 JULY 1943 ........................................................................................................................................ 58 LWN POST WAR ACCOUNT 58 ........................................................................................................................ FROM THE MEMOIRS OF KARL DOENITZ 61 ..................................................................................................... 12 – CARRYING GUNS TO SAVE LEROS ............................................................................................... 62 20-27 OCTOBER 1943 ....................................................................................................................... 62 FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BBC INTERVIEW 62 ........................................................................................................ APPENDIX A - NAVAL CAREER OF ....................................................................................................... 64 LENNOX WILLIAM NAPIER .................................................................................................................. 64 APPENDIX B -MINEFIELDS LAID BY RORQUAL UNDER LWN COMMAND .............................................. 66 APPENDIX C - DESCRIPTION OF A SUBMARINE ATTACK ....................................................................... 67 FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BBC INTERVIEW 67 ........................................................................................................ APPENDIX D - LETTERS TO CHRISTIAN LAMB ......................................................................................
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